In the darkness the youngster slowly recovered his consciousness.
âWhere?â1
âWhat is this place?â
âWhere am I?â
No one answered, the darkness was shrouded in silence.
âWho am I?â
âWhyâŠâŠam I here?â
âWhat should I do?â
The teenager stood up impatiently and felt he had forgotten something important.
He racked his brain to remember something but failed.
He began to struggle, wanting to free himself from the cage of darkness.
Suddenly, an illusory light appeared before his eyes.
The small light was distinct in the darkness.
Light and shadow flickered as the teenager suddenly started to remember.
It was as if he returned to the tavern, the place where he celebrated a victory as a templar knight. He had listened to the commanderâs teachings there.
The light amidst darkness resembled the dim tavern candlelight.
The youngster felt warmth as he dizzley lied down.
At this moment, he heard a beastly roar.
Along with the beastly roar the illusionary light suddenly solidified. The teenager was disappointed to find himself not in the tavern but inside a scorching cave.
Endless pain flowed unceasingly like the ocean waves.
Zhen Jin felt he was like a small sampan that could collapse at any time from the raging winds and tidal waves.1
Besides the pain, it was also hard to bear the dehydration and intense heat as well as the intense dizziness.
None of this was unfamiliar to Zhen Jin
âThe fire-poison flared up again!â He thought.
His stomach was still pierced by the bearâs claws, making it hard to get up. The teenager needed all of his strength to even slightly raise his head.
Then, he found the bearâs corpse as well as the familiar figure busily leaning over the corpse.
It was Zi Di extracting the bearâs blood.
She wiped her eyes from time to time, her face filled with anxiety.
Zhen Jin immediately relaxed, he had heard a beastâs roar and thought one would attack. Seeing Zi Di safe and sound, he relaxed, causing his head to fall powerlessly and hit the ground with a thump.2
Zi Di was startled and upon seeing Zhen Jin being awake once more, she cried out with pleasant surprise: âMy lord?! Lord Zhen Jin, you woke up!â
She immediately hurried over to Zhen Jinâs side.
As she moved close, Zhen Jin saw the girl's red and swollen eyes as well as her tear stained cheeks.
Zhen Jin wanted to say something but couldnât
His tongue and throat were swollen, he could only force a smile.
Zi Di spoke: âMy lord, the fire-poison has flared up again, the previous potion will not work again. I was in the middle of making a new potion that will surely succeed! Believe me, my Lord, you must not give up!â
âI am certain I can save your life!â
Zi Di comforted Zhen Jin but it was also to deceive herself and raise her own self confidence.
Zhen Jin nodded, but this slight movement caused him to fall unconscious again.
He did not know how long he was in the darkness when he heard a beastâs roar again, allowing him to awaken once more.
After finding that no beasts were attacking, Zhen Jin realised in his heart: âIs it only a hallucination? How long was I unconscious for this time?â
He looked around and found Zi Di at his side.
This time the girl wasn't extracting bear blood, rather she had sliced open Zhen Jinâs arm and was extracting his blood.
The bottle was already half filled with blood.
The youngsterâs blood which was being drawn appeared to be dark red and boiling hot.
Upon seeing the teenager awakening once more, Zi Di immediately said: âMy lord, I am treating you! I am drawing out your poisoned blood to weaken the fire-poison in your body.â
The youngster was speechless.
Strangely enough, this time he didnât feel any pain.
This was definitely not a good thing.
Sensing pain was part of a normal human bodyâs senses, it was its warning mechanism to remind the body to protect itself in time.
Zhen Jin knew his body was in terrible shape, not only did the fire-poison flare up, he also had grave injuries from fighting the bear. Not feeling pain implied all of his nerves had been destroyed.
Only in his mind did he feel a sense of dizziness and pain.
The teenager dared not to move easily.
From his earlier experience, even a little movement would knock him unconscious again.
Zhen Jin could only look up at the ceiling of the cave.
Regardless of whether it was the wound or the blood being drawn, he couldnât feel or hear anything.
The youngster felt strangely peaceful at this moment.
Soon enough this tranquility gradually vanished, replaced by an encroaching sense of fear.
Yes, fear.
He felt scared!
He knew death was coming and was afraid of dying.
In fact, when he had confronted the bear, he had faced death head-on, however at the time he didnât have the leisure to contemplate it.
The feeling of Death slowly creeping forward was not a pleasant feeling!!
The teenager felt his life slipping away without a sound.
From the depths of the teenagerâs heart the desire to live rose up. Yet his life still slipped away like water in his hands, no matter how hard he tried, it would eventually all be washed away.
He found himself to be like a lamb that could only wait to be slaughtered by the grim reaper.
Zhen Jin originally thought his courage was enough, but now he felt scared and feeble.
This fear was so real and intense that Zhen Jin realised--even if one had training and faced many trials, it was impossible to be completely calm in the face of it.
Because he realized--all life would be afraid, all life instinctively possessed the desire to fight for their own survival.
Fear was like a fog that shrouded oneâs heart.
At the same time, Helplessness, despair, confusion, anger, and other emotions also gave rise to fear.3
Zhen Jin began to pray.
âO Great god, o supreme emperorâŠâŠâ3
He was a templar knight, he believed in the current human ancestor god, Emperor Sheng Ming.4
Human ancestor, Emperor Sheng Ming was humanityâs leader. He had a cultivation level that surpassed the legend level and walked the world as a god.
Zhen Jin went on to confess to Emperor Sheng Ming.
He attempted to confess his past sins, but awkwardly discovered that because he had lost his memories, he couldnât remember any.
As a result, he could only pray to the Emperor to pity him after death and to bless and protect Zi Di so that she could escape from this treacherous island smoothly.
However when the teenager prayed to the god he had served all his life, there was no response.4
Not even the smallest response.
âEvery templar knight receives Emperor Sheng Mingâs attention. Donât tell me that this island can separate believers from god?â
With such doubts Zhen Jin sank into darkness once more.
Like before, a beastly roar shook heaven and earth waking Zhen Jin once more.
This time upon waking up Zhen Jin furrowed his eyebrows.
He could feel intense pain once more!
The pain was different than before, this time his whole body felt like a pincushion. Every inch of skin, every inch of muscle, all parts of his body felt like they had been tortured countless times.
Not only that but the fire poison was flaring up and burning more intensely.
The teenager felt like he was thrown into a bonfire and combusted into flames.
âIt worked, it worked!â Zi Diâs voice sounded in his ears, the girl seemed to be full of emotions.
Zhen Jin shifted his gaze and saw her move, he was shocked.
This girl wasn't extracting bear blood or drawing his blood, but surprisingly was pouring blood on Zhen Jinâs wound.
That was definitely the bearâs blood!
Zhen Jin was originally riddled with injuries, the biggest being the terrible wound in his stomach.
But now, the bear claw scars running through Zhen Jinâs stomach were gone.5
Zi Di had poured many potions on the wounds, mixing many colors like a painter.
An unending stream of bearâs blood was poured and quickly absorbed by this dense pigment.
Zhen Jinâs body currently resembled drought-stricken soil, regardless of how much bear blood Zi Di poured, it was all rapidly absorbed.
âWhat kind of treatment is this?â Will it really work?â Zhen Jin looked at himself and couldnât help but feel a chill in his heart.
The more bear blood he absorbed, the more intense pain he felt grew.
But at the same time, his heart felt more powerful.
Bump, bump, his pulse quickened.
The teenager saw an illusion: If his heart was beating faster, he feared it would jump out of his broken body!
Zhen Jinâs concerns did not last long as he fell unconscious again.
It was because the pain had intensified so greatly that it was to a point far beyond the limits of what a human body could endure.
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